Early conditioning and family beliefs.

Parenting styles and the formation of perception.

The roots of how we perceive ourselves in adulthood almost invariably lie in the repetitive experiences lived during childhood with our attachment figures.

As children, we do not have the critical capacity to filter information; we simply internalize our parents' reactions as absolute truths.

If you grew up in an environment where love or validation was conditional on exceptional results, you probably learned to interpret any "average" performance as a personal failure.

The lens through which we interpret the world was formed at times when we could not articulate our emotions, carrying those unconscious biases into our professional lives today.

For example, if the response to a mediocre grade was scolding or constant comparison with others ("who got the best grade?"), the seed of perpetual self-doubt about one's own worth is sown

Fear-based motivation

A determining factor in the development of imposter syndrome is the emotional driver behind the effort.

For many people, academic and work motivation stems not from genuine interest or curiosity, but from a visceral fear of the reaction of authority.

If during the formative stage punishment, anger or indifference were the consequences of not being perfect, the individual learns to operate in a state of constant alertness.

This conditioning causes that, as adults, every project or task is not seen as a learning opportunity, but as a minefield where the main objective is to avoid negative judgment, rejection or the embarrassment of "being found out" as deficient.

Premature Parental Roles

Research suggests that children who were forced into adult roles prematurely ("parentification") are significantly more susceptible to feeling like imposters in the future.

This happens because standards of behavior and responsibility were imposed on them that were unrealistic for their biological and emotional age.

Having to manage complex domestic or emotional situations without the proper tools, these children internalize the feeling that they must know everything and handle everything, and that any request for help is a failure.

This mental configuration carries over into the work environment, where the person feels that he or she must meet superhuman expectations in all aspects of his or her life to be considered valid

Summary

The roots of adult self-perception lie in childhood, where we internalize the reactions of our attachment figures as absolute truths, conditioning our worth on achieving exceptional results.

Fear of authority or punishment becomes the engine of effort, transforming every task into a minefield where the main objective is to avoid negative judgment.

Children who assumed adult roles prematurely often feel like imposters in the future, as they internalized unrealistic standards of responsibility and the belief that asking for help is an unacceptable failure.